deezer/spleeter · error · SpleeterError

output directory does not exists: {directory}

Error message

output directory does not exists: {directory}

What it means

`FFMPEGAudioAdapter.save` computes the parent directory of the target path and raises a `SpleeterError` if that directory does not exist. ffmpeg subprocesses cannot create directories, so spleeter fails fast before writing.

Source

Thrown at spleeter/audio/ffmpeg.py:165

            data (np.ndarray):
                Waveform data to write.
            sample_rate (float):
                Sample rate to write file in.
            codec (Codec):
                (Optional) Writing codec to use, default to `None`.
            bitrate (str):
                (Optional) Bitrate of the written audio file, default to
                `None`.

        Raises:
            IOError:
                If any error occurs while using FFMPEG to write data.
        """
        if isinstance(path, Path):
            path = str(path)
        directory = os.path.dirname(path)
        if not os.path.exists(directory):
            raise SpleeterError(f"output directory does not exists: {directory}")
        logger.debug(f"Writing file {path}")
        input_kwargs = {"ar": sample_rate, "ac": data.shape[1]}
        output_kwargs = {"ar": sample_rate, "strict": "-2"}
        if bitrate:
            output_kwargs["audio_bitrate"] = bitrate
        if codec is not None and codec != "wav":
            output_kwargs["codec"] = self.SUPPORTED_CODECS.get(codec, codec)
        process = (
            ffmpeg.input("pipe:", format="f32le", **input_kwargs)
            .output(path, **output_kwargs)
            .overwrite_output()
            .run_async(pipe_stdin=True, pipe_stderr=True, quiet=True)
        )
        try:
            process.stdin.write(data.astype("<f4").tobytes())
            process.stdin.close()
            process.wait()
        except IOError:

View on GitHub (pinned to c8854001ac)

Solutions

1. Create the output directory before saving: `os.makedirs(directory, exist_ok=True)`
2. Or pass a `filename_format`/path inside an already-existing directory
3. Double-check the output path for typos and relative/absolute path mixups

Example fix

// before
separator.separate_to_file('song.mp3', 'output/vocals_only/song.wav')
// after
import os
os.makedirs('output/vocals_only', exist_ok=True)
separator.separate_to_file('song.mp3', 'output/vocals_only/song.wav')

import os
out = 'output/vocals_only/song.wav'
os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(out) or '.', exist_ok=True)

try:
    separator.separate_to_file('song.mp3', output_path)
except Exception as e:
    if 'output directory does not exists' in str(e):
        os.makedirs(output_path, exist_ok=True)
        separator.separate_to_file('song.mp3', output_path)
    else:
        raise

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `separator.separate_to_file(..., output_path='newdir/sub/')` or `adapter.save(path, ...)` where the target directory (or any parent) has not been created yet.

Common situations: Writing separation output to a fresh output folder that was never created, typo in the output path, running from a different working directory than expected.

Related errors

• {} binary not found
• An error occurs with ffprobe (see ffprobe output below) {}
• FFMPEG error: {process.stderr.read()}
• Configuration file {descriptor} not found

AI-assisted analysis of deezer/spleeter@c8854001ac (2026-08-28). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f1fae2a1e19a79e2. Report an issue: GitHub.